Moyers Moves On

After a fairly responsible career, Bill Moyers goes out with a whine.

And Moyers has done nothing to endear himself further as he heads for the exit, telling anyone who will listen that "the conservative press is a propaganda wing of the current administration and the mainstream press thinks only of the bottom line."

[emphasis mine]

This type of clap trap smacks of a Ratherism. No Retrospect or Perspective.
(No surprise either considering having been the editor and chief correspondent of CBS from 1976 to 1980)

"I learned the hard way an old lesson that the greatest moments in the history of the press came not when journalists made common cause with the state but when they stood fearlessly independent of it," he said. "Now we have those megamedia companies that won't speak truth to power and an ideological media that willingly lies for power. Scary!"

Scary indeed. Though his statement appears to be pointed at Murdock and his small clique.

As perspective goes, he misses totally the historical changes in the media with cable and the rise of Fox News. Until that point there was no national news organization that appealed to the conservative half of the US. To this day I don't believe there is a national broadcast company that leans conservatively.

Front Page Magazine has an article with Moyers history.

The Washington Post took it usual bent view of Moyers adieu. Not unusual that a Left bent organization would screech that Moyers is right.

Watching the final program, which consisted of a report on the dominance of right-wing ranting in TV and radio and an interview with Anthony Romero, head of the ACLU, one may have felt guilty about not having supported Moyers more loyally as he kept fighting the good fight.

His is one of the few liberal voices left in broadcasting, it seems, and his insistence on being armed with facts to support his opinions left him at something of a disadvantage when dealing with people who think the way to win an argument is to scream the loudest.

[emphasis mine]

How wonderful that they recognize the screaming. I've been seeing it for a long time. Though the WaPo is far from innocent on that topic. Both sides scream. Who screams louder? I'm not sure, and it depends on what you read or view.

And this statement just left me bewildered.

piety is one of the sins most common to those on the political left, and Moyers's career has hardly been devoid of it.

[emphasis mine]

Now WaPo claims the high MORAL ground for the left? Is that it? What was that exit poll question that we heard so much blathering about?

The WaPo piece then goes on to rant about Right leaning news organizations supporting Bush. But again this pundit fails totally to place perspective into his piece. Not one word about the vast majority of the press supporting Kerry or even discussing the left lean in the press.

I had hoped that Moyers would have left with some decorum, but like Rather he seems to have had to have his final temper tantrum on the way out.